RECOMMENDATION
That the report dated June 3, 2003
entitled “Application by James Strezos for Site Plan Approval for a Single
Detached Dwelling 7070 Bayview Avenue “Aldebarron” (SC.03-108869)” be received;
And That the Site Plan Approval
application be denied.
PURPOSE
This report provides background
information and makes recommendations about an application for Site Plan
approval for a proposed single detached dwelling at 7070 Bayview Avenue. If approved the application will permit the
development of a single detached dwelling and will result in the demolition of
a designated heritage dwelling. The
report concludes that the development as proposed is not acceptable and that
the application should be denied.
BACKGROUND
Location and Property
The 0.468 hectare (1.156 acre) property
is located on the west side of Bayview Avenue, north of Steeles Avenue
East. (See Figure 1) The site is comprised of approximately 0.253
hectares (0.625 acres) of table land and 0.215 hectares (0.531 acres) of valley
land. There is an existing single
detached heritage dwelling on the property.
This building is a heritage resource, built in the late 1930’s,
identified as the “Aldebarron”. This
heritage dwelling is an excellent example of a Colonial Revival styled estate
home. The style of the house and period
of construction, during the Great Depression, make the home particularly rare
for Markham. It represents the
beginning of a trend of wealthy Toronto families building estate homes in the
“countryside” that was Markham in the 1930’s.
The property was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act on
October 29, 2002.
Area Context
To the north, on Whitelaw Court, is an
existing low density residential neighbourhood, comprised of single detached
dwellings on lots with average frontages of approximately 28.61 m (93.86 feet)
and average areas of approximately 1,183 m2 (12,741.1 ft2).
To the immediate south, at 7050 Bayview
Avenue, is an existing single detached dwelling fronting onto Bayview
Avenue. Further south, the properties
at 7006 and 7030 Bayview are vacant. At
the northwest corner of Bayview Avenue and Steeles Avenue East, is a municipal
bus loop. To the west is valley land
and to the east, across Bayview Avenue, is the Tridel development site, where a
7-storey, 93 unit condominium apartment building (approved by the Ontario
Municipal Board) is currently being built.
Existing Zoning
The
property is zoned “First Density Residential” (R1) under by-law 1767 as
amended. A single detached dwelling is
a permitted use.
Previous applications submitted include a
demolition application and Official Plan, Zoning and Site Plan applications
In October of 2002 the owner submitted
Site Plan and Zoning By-Law amendment applications. An application to amend the Town’s Official Plan was submitted to
the Town in December 2002. These
applications, which proposed demolition of the heritage dwelling and
construction of seven new townhouse units, were denied by Development Services
Committee on March 25, 2003. A primary
reason for the denial was the removal or demolition of the heritage home. The owner has appealed the Official Plan,
Zoning and Site Plan applications for the townhouse proposal to the Ontario
Municipal Board. A pre-hearing
conference is scheduled for Friday June 20, 2003. (The March 25, 2003 staff report is attached as Appendix ‘A’.)
DISCUSSION
The application proposes replacing the
existing heritage dwelling with a single detached dwelling
On June 5, 2002 the owner applied for a
demolition permit to remove the existing heritage dwelling and the associated
accessory building (DP.02-109119). At
its meeting of September 3, 2002 Council adopted Heritage Markham’s
recommendation that the application for demolition be denied. A site plan agreement, for the
re-development of a property designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage
Act, must be executed prior to a demolition permit being issued. The building permit and the demolition
permit would be issued at the same time.
On March 14, 2003 the owner submitted a
site plan application that proposes to “remove” the existing heritage dwelling
and to construct a two-storey single detached dwelling. (The applicant has not withdrawn the
Official Plan amendment, Zoning and Site Plan applications and the files remain
open. It would appear that a primary
intent of the current site plan application is to facilitate demolition of the
heritage dwelling).
The proposed setback for the single
detached dwelling to Bayview Avenue will be approximately 16.33 m (53.58
feet). The north side yard setback will
be approximately 13.4 metres (43.96 feet) and the south side yard setback will
be approximately 12.97 metres (42.55 feet) and it will be located approximately
10.21 metres (33.5 feet) from the top of bank.
(See Figure 4) The existing
driveway, onto Bayview Avenue, will be retained as the sole access to the
site.
Heritage Markham comments
Heritage Markham reviewed the application for
the single detached dwelling and, on April 22, 2003, recommended that the owner sensitively incorporate the
existing dwelling in any redevelopment proposal for the site. (The Heritage Markham Extract is attached as
Appendix ‘B’.) Heritage Markham does
not support the removal of the heritage building as proposed in the site plan
application for the proposed single detached dwelling.
Staffs’ immediate concern with this application
centres on the removal of the heritage dwelling from the site. There are however, a number of other
unresolved issues that also need to be dealt with prior to any re-development
occurring on the site. These issues
were outlined in the March 25, 2003 report to Development Services
Committee. (Appendix ‘A’.)
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
None at this
time.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED
The proposal
has been circulated to other Town Departments and public agencies.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommend that the Site Plan
application for the single detached dwelling be refused because the proposal
does not incorporate the heritage dwelling into the re-development. Should a re-development proposal, incorporating
the heritage dwelling be submitted, other issues as outlined in this and in the
March 25, 2003 reports will require resolution.
ATTACHMENTS
Figure 1 – Applicant/Agent + Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context/Zoning
Figure 3 – Aerial Photo
Figure 4 – Proposed Site Plan
Figure 5 – Proposed East and West
Building Elevations
Figure 6 – Proposed North and
South Building Elevations
Appendix ‘A’ -
March 25, 2003 Report to Development Services Committee
Appendix ‘B’ - April 22, 2003 Heritage Markham Extract
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Valerie Shuttleworth, MCIP, RPP
Director of Planning and Urban Design
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Jim Baird, MCIP, RPP
Commissioner of Development Services
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